Leon’s vaccination campaign against COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is advancing, albeit slowly. Across the province, 67,324 people have been vaccinated against influenza. Among people over 60, 33.9% have been vaccinated. Children under 2 received 19% of education, while children aged 2 to 4 received 17.3%.
Regarding COVID-19, the province has administered 48,807 doses of vaccine. Among people over 60 years old, 26.9% have been vaccinated.
Bronchiolitis vaccine success
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization campaign launched by the Government of Castile and León this year has recorded its best data, with a total of 1,309 children receiving nirsevimab antibody doses in the balance of the first month, meaning that this year The coverage rate for people born between March 1 and November 3 is 84.9%.
In Castile and León, a single dose of nirsevimab administered during the 2023-2024 campaign is included in the lifelong immunization schedule for children born between March 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. The Directorate General of Public Health has secured a total of 13,000 doses of vaccine to meet demand until that date.
The injections are given in hospitals or health centers according to the time of birth, as follows: those born on or after October 1, receive monoclonal antibodies in the hospital after delivery; for those born between March and September, at the beginning of the virus season A specific campaign was carried out to administer the vaccine at health centers or the usual vaccination centres.
influenza
In terms of seasonal influenza vaccination coverage, data as of November 6 show that in the first month of the campaign, the vaccination coverage rate for people over 60 years old reached 36.4%. The coverage rate for children under 2 years old is 19.3%, and the coverage rate for children between 2 and 4 years old is 16.2%.
It is worth emphasizing that, as a novelty of this event, vaccination is conducted for the group of children aged 6 to 59 months. These minors receive two types of vaccines based on age: intramuscular quadrivalent inactivated vaccine for children aged 6 to 23 months, and intranasal attenuated vaccine for children aged 24 to 59 months.
The total number of vaccines procured by the Ministry of Health for the 2023-2024 season so far is 805,500 doses, of which 368,809 doses have been administered. The total expenditure of the Government of Castile and León on influenza vaccines is €10,527,058, which includes the new attenuated intranasal vaccine for part of the child population.
According to the reason for vaccination, 79.2% of the vaccinees were over 60 years old. By age, a total of 280,203 doses of vaccine were vaccinated for high-risk groups, followed by 27,600 doses for people in shelters and 16,159 doses for high-risk groups due to pathological reasons. People at high risk for illness have received 10,186 doses. Based on medical prescriptions and 9,490 health center staff.
Broken down by gender, 161,056 doses have been administered to men and 207,746 doses have been administered to women.
Coronavirus disease
Regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, official records from the Ministry of Health show that a total of 268,022 people have been vaccinated, accounting for 50.5% of the total number of vaccinations. Among them, 119,062 were men and 148,960 were women, of whom only 32,281 were under the age of 60 (only 12% of the total number of vaccinations). For people over 60 years old, the coverage rate is 29.4%.
Broken down by group, logically the group with the most vaccinations in the first month of the campaign was the age-related risk group, with 201,425 people vaccinated; the second largest group was institutionalized residents with 29,803 people; In third place are people with dangerous conditions, with 16,330 people; in fourth place are health center workers, with 5,929 professionals vaccinated against COVID-19; in fifth place are social and health center workers staff, they have 4,382 vaccines.
The Directorate General of Public Health encourages all symptomatic people (the most vulnerable or those with pre-existing medical conditions) to receive a flu or COVID-19 vaccine before the corresponding epidemic occurs.
Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination data by province as of Nov. 6, as well as RSV immunization data, are provided in the accompanying table.